CONVENIENCE STORES AS CARE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR OLDER ADULTS: The Crisis of Care in Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

Convenience stores are essential facilities for older people living in cities, but there is a lack of discussion about the relation thereof to care for older people. An emerging phenomenon in Japan, one of the countries with the most rapidly aging population, is that convenience stores are also becoming a form of care infrastructure. In this article, I focus on this phenomenon in a time of care crisis by examining convenience stores in Tokyo, Japan, through the framework of care infrastructure. I combine descriptive statistics, government and corporate reports with interviews with 15 older adults in Tokyo to assess the potential and challenges of convenience stores as entities that contribute to their care. The findings of my study indicate that convenience stores may contribute to the care of older people because of their proximity, multifunctionality, sociality and sheltering nature, while challenges relate to affordability, equity and fairness. In the conclusion, I offer some suggestions regarding opportunities for and challenges to expanding care in aging cities by rethinking the potential of convenience stores as social and physical infrastructure.